Microsoft chips away at 3D tech with Canesta buyout plan

The Silicon Valley startup said in a statement on Friday that it had inked a “definitive agreement” with Redmond, to have its tech, IP, customer contracts and other resources bought by Microsoft.

Canesta specialises in 3D sensing technology used in making Natural User Interfaces (NUI).

“This is very exciting news for the industry. There is little question that within the next decade we will see natural user interfaces become common for input across all devices,” said Canesta’s CEO and president Jim Spare.

“With Microsoft’s breadth of scope from enterprise to consumer products, market presence, and commitment to NUI, we are confident that our technology will see wide adoption across many applications that embody the full potential of the technology.”

Microsoft is expected to release its Kinect set of products, which will push motion-based gaming into its Xbox 360 console, this month.